


Chat

by smartgirlsaremean



Series: Rumbelle Showdown 2018 [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, I didn't write them down because I'm dumb, I don't really remember what the prompts were, Round 1 entry, Rumbelle Showdown 2018, Something to do with a twenty-hour game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 06:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14710542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smartgirlsaremean/pseuds/smartgirlsaremean
Summary: Belle and her online buddy are chatting about their bad days when he says something that seems familiar.





	Chat

The door of the apartment opened with such force that it banged against the wall. Belle French stomped through the doorway, kicking her shoes off as she went, her hands clenched into fists and her eyes blazing. Standing in the middle of the living room, she took a deep breath and deliberately relaxed her shoulders and hands.

“It’s fine,” she said aloud. “Fine. Everything is fine.”

It wasn’t fine, of course, but maybe if she pretended it was…

The scene in his shop was seared in her memory.

_ "I’m afraid I can’t help you, dearie. Your father’s debts are rather out of your price range, and I’ve wasted quite enough capital on him already.” _

_ " _ _ But if you’d transfer his debt to me, you  _ **_know_ ** _ I’d pay you back.” She’d had to sigh when he raised that damn eyebrow again. “Eventually.” _

_ “Miss French, I find your filial loyalty admirable, but I know what your salary is. By the time you could pay me back, the interest alone would outstrip the original loan.” _

_ “I...I don’t mind…” _

_ He made a sound that sounded a little like a growl. “Are you really so spineless that you would bankrupt yourself to save that worthless father of yours?” He waved an impatient hand when she tried to retort. “Regardless, I am not interested in refinancing your father’s loan, and I really don’t have the time to discuss this further. Good day, Miss French.” _

And before she knew it, she’d been outside the shop staring at the Closed sign, which was still swinging from being turned.

The worst part, of course, was that he was right.

But he didn’t have to be such a colossal ass about it.

Belle took another deep breath, released it slowly, and went to her computer. She’d started playing  _ Fairytale Land _ a few years after its popularity had reached its peak, but she enjoyed the little community of online gamers she’d met. Some of the missions could take ages - one memorable session had lasted nearly twenty hours, with all the side missions and building challenges - but everyone on her team had agreed that it had been the most fun they’d had in years. 

There was  _ one _ fellow player she preferred to the others, but she didn’t think anyone would blame her. She couldn’t possibly be the first gamer to develop an online crush.

His username was SpinsAndDeals, and he was sweet and thoughtful and charming...and an excellent player, of course. He preferred finesse and stealth when carrying out missions, which complemented her own more impulsive style pretty well.

She smiled when she entered the in-game chat and saw his name in the list of players, and wasted no time sending him a message.

>>Hey.

His answer took a few moments. <<Good evening.

>>Good day?

<<Not really.

>>Oh, I’m sorry. Was work bad?

She didn’t know what he did, as he refused to divulge any kind of personal information, but he must have some kind of job, right?

<<A disagreement with a customer. Not normally something that bothers me.

>>But?

<<I know I was right.  _ She _ knows I was right. She simply won’t admit it, and now she’s angry with me.

Belle felt as if her heart were sinking down to her feet.  _ She? _ He’d never mentioned a  _ she _ before.

>>Is she someone special?

<<Very.

Belle swallowed and clenched one hand, then relaxed.

>>But you said she was a customer?

<<Yes. And it’s likely that’s all she’ll ever be.

_ Good _ . She decided against typing that, partly because she knew he wouldn’t appreciate it, and partly because she had no right to want him to be single. She didn’t even know if he  _ was  _ single.

<<What about you? Good day?

>>No. Argument with a stubborn ass.

<<Really? How could anyone argue with you? You’re pure sunshine.

Belle grinned.

>>Only to people as sweet as you. This guy, though

>>he’s arrogant and dismissive and sarcastic and sometimes downright cruel. He wasn’t always like that. We used to get along pretty well. I don’t know what I did to make him despise me, but lately every time I talk to him he treats me like dirt on his shoes.

There was a pause.

<<Why do you keep talking to him?

That was the question, wasn’t it? Why  _ did _ she keep talking him? Was she that starved for intelligent conversation? Was he really so attractive that she’d rather have him snarl at her than not talk to her at all? Was it because she sometimes caught him looking at her with an expression that seemed to belie his apparent contempt?

>>I don’t know. I guess

>>I keep hoping he’ll go back to the way things were. There’s a good, kind man buried under all of that nastiness. I’ve seen him.

<<And is  _ he _ someone special?

Belle shook her head at the screen, tears unexpectedly springing to her eyes.

>>I thought he might be.

They were both silent for a long time, and after a few moments Belle shook herself out of her reverie. It didn’t matter. If Gold wanted to be an ass and throw away what could have been a good friendship, that was on him.

>>Oh, well. You’ll just have to be my main source of entertainment from now on.

<<I wasn’t already? I’m devastated.

Belle giggled.

>>One of these days I’ll get you to use video chat and you can do sock puppets or something.

<<You would most definitely regret that.

Would she? If Gold wasn’t going to be what she’d hoped, couldn’t she pursue this little online flirtation and see where it went? Stranger things had happened than soulmates meeting online, after all. What did she have to lose?

<<Wanderlust? Are you there?

Oh, she’d been sitting and staring for  _ ages _ .

>>Yeah. Sorry.

But who was the  _ she _ , and how much of an obstacle would she be? Belle bit her lip and thought carefully before typing her question.

>>What did you argue with your customer about? Maybe I can help you figure out why she won’t admit she was wrong.

He didn’t answer for several seconds.

<<She’s a very good person. She’s brilliant and brave. Loyal. Too loyal, sometimes. Someone close to her is in debt to his eyeballs and she wants to bail him out. It would ruin her, and it wouldn’t stop the other person from borrowing more.

Well, that cut awfully close to home. Belle chewed her lip and felt a little guilty for chewing Gold out when he’d said more or less the same thing about her father. He could have been a bit  _ nicer _ about it, but he had a point.

>>And you told her that?

<<Well. Perhaps not in those exact terms. My word choice might have been considerably more colorful.

>>Why do you care, though? Even if she’s a very special customer, she’s still only a customer.

Another pause.

<<I may not have been entirely forthcoming. The person I mentioned is indebted to  _ me _ . And the thought of her owing me money - I didn’t take it well.

Wait. What? Belle felt her palms begin to sweat.

>>Because?

<<Because I’m an idiot.

>>Oh, come on, you are not.

<<I am. She’s young and beautiful and fascinating, and I’m

<<well, none of those things.

Belle rolled her eyes.

>>I don’t know about the ‘young and beautiful’ part because you still won’t use video chat, but I find you plenty fascinating.

<<That’s kind of you. But

>>So, what? You have a crush on her?

<<That’s fairly accurate, though I wouldn’t have used the word  _ crush _ .

>>Well, what word would you use?

<<Infatuation, I suppose. A hopeless infatuation.

Infatuation. Well, that didn’t sound good for her.

>>Okay, now you  _ have _ to get on video chat. I have to be able to judge whether or not this ‘infatuation’ of yours is necessarily hopeless.

<<Not likely, dearie. I’m not in the habit of humiliating myself.

She’d nearly typed out her response when a realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

_ Dearie _ .

Belle stared at the word on her screen until it blurred.

It could be a coincidence, she supposed. Plenty of people said “dearie,” didn’t they?  _ She _ only knew the one, but he couldn’t be the only person in the entire world who used that particular endearment.

>>So are you some kind of loan shark or something?

<<Or something. I’m many things to many people.

>>You realize that makes you sound like a mob boss.

<<Close. Pawnbroker. Also landlord and lawyer. General leech on society, I suppose.

Right. That was it. Belle leaped from her chair, slipped her feet into the nearest pair of shoes, and headed for the door.

If Gold was going to confess to being  _ infatuated _ with her, he was damn well going to do it in person. That way she could tell him she was infatuated with him, too. No doubt there would be denials and hedging and accusations, but when the smoke cleared, maybe they’d actually be on the same page for once.

**Author's Note:**

> I've never been part of a challenge like the Showdown before. It was a lot of fun!


End file.
